Caloocan veterinarian bludgeoned to death in clinic

MANILA, Philippine–A 60-year-old veterinarian was found dead inside his clinic in Caloocan City on Sunday morning.

According to the police, Dr. Gavino Ubas Jr. was “hit with a hard object,” probably the hammer found on a nearby table, case investigator PO2 Ferdinand Orbeta said in an interview on Monday. The victim suffered multiple facial and head injuries, he added.

Ubas’ neighbor, Vilma Mauro, told the police that she went over to the clinic to check on him after she smelled something foul coming from the establishment around 9:30 a.m. Sunday. She found the door open and discovered the victim lying in a pool of blood. Mauro added that she last saw the victim at 9 p.m. Saturday before he closed his clinic on 5th Avenue corner C. Cordero Street.

The police said that Mauro, who lived in an apartment beside the clinic, told them that she did not hear any unusual noise coming from the victim’s place. The police are still waiting for the autopsy results to determine the veterinarian’s cause of death. Orbeta said they were also conducting further investigation to establish the motive for the killing.

“It’s possible that it’s robbery with homicide and not murder,” he said, adding that there was no sign of forced entry. “Relatives claimed that there were objects [missing in the clinic] but that’s not enough to conclude that the victim was robbed,” he said.–Rima Granali